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Madison County blotter

published Thursday, July 24, 2014

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office reported the following incidents:

MOLESTATION CHARGED: On July 20, an Athens man was charged with molesting a Madison County girl. Thomas Jefferson Rawls, 57, of Pine Valley Place was charged with child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes. Rawls is accused of inappropriately touching a 4-year-old girl, Lt. Jimmy Patton said. The allegations were investigated and probable cause to obtain the warrants was found, he said.

BURGLARY: On July 17, Deputy William Elrod was dispatched to Crabapple Hollow Road, where a woman said she and her boyfriend left on June 18 to travel and came back after they received a call that someone had been in their home. The woman said six brandy glasses, a piece of jewelry, an Apple iPad, a laptop computer and some pictures are missing.

MEDICINE MISSING: On July 17, Deputy Andrew Wilkes met with a man who said that while he was in the Madison County Jail, someone entered his home on McCannon Morris Road and stole his medication.

CLUB DAMAGED: On July 17, Deputy Larry MacKay was dispatched to the Colbert Lions Club on First Street, where someone damaged two windows by breaking out the glass. A brick and piece of wood were found inside the building.

MAN ARRESTED: On July 17, Deputy Brandon Hanley was dispatched to a domestic dispute on South Fifth Street in Colbert, where a woman said she and her boyfriend, Preston S. Strickland, had argued and she was going to stay elsewhere for the night until matters cooled down. As the woman began to leave in her car, the officer heard an engine revving and saw a pickup run a stop sign at Fifth Avenue. The deputy attempted a traffic stop, but when the truck didn’t stop, he activated his emergency equipment and pursued the pickup, which went off the road and into a yard where it stopped.

Strickland exited and began running to the nearby woods. Hanley drove to the opposite side of the woods and saw the suspect emerge into a field. Hanley drove across the field and the suspect dropped to his knees. Strickland would not cooperate with the officer, and struggled as the officer tried to place him in handcuffs. He told the officer he was not afraid of going to jail. Strickland, 20, of Colbert, was charged with attempting to elude, reckless driving, obstruction and running a stop sign.

SHOPLIFTER ESCAPES: On July 19, Deputy Christopher Haston was dispatched to the Royal Food Store in Ila, where an employee said a white woman came in the store, looked around for a few minutes, then grabbed a pair of sunglasses and fled in a red GMC pickup. The woman was recorded on surveillance video while taking the glasses.

SKYPE COMPLAINT: On July 19, a resident of Moon’s Grove Church Road reported that earlier this year she had a conversation with a friend on Skype in which she discussed witchcraft. She said the friend, who lives in Foysyth County, recorded the conversation and is now showing the video to other people over the Internet. The woman said she wanted to file a report on the matter.

DAMAGE: On July 19, a deputy met with a Hull woman who said someone has been entering her property and damaging items inside the home by putting an unknown substance on the walls and appliances. The deputy could find no forced entry to the home, which is surrounded by a chain-link fence.

STOLEN VEHICLE: On July 20, Deputy Justin Hanley met with an Ila man regarding the theft of a Kia Rio he had rented. The man said he left the vehicle parked at his home with the keys left inside. The vehicle was later found wrecked on Mize Road in Jackson County.

BURGLARY: On July 17, Deputy Larry MacKay was dispatched to Maplewood Drive, where a couple said they left home about 7:15 p.m. and returned at 11:45 p.m. to find items missing from the home. As they looked around, they found dresser drawers opened and other items moved around. Keys to their vehicles were taken along with a 12-gauge shotgun, an Apple iPad, a bottle of Crown Royal and bottle of Jack Daniels. The intruder entered through a bedroom window, but exited through the front door.

HARASSMENT: On July 16, Deputy William Elrod met with a man who said he received a telephone call from a man identifying himself as an IRS agent who told him that he owed the government $2,689. The caller ordered the man to pay the money by cash within 45 minutes or he would be going to jail. The caller also said his identity would be taken and the man would be forced to leave the state of Georgia.

THEFT: On July 16, Deputy Andrew Wilkes met with a man at the sheriff’s office who said someone stole a pressure washer from the bed of his pickup, but he is unsure where the theft occurred.

DISPUTE: On July 15, Lt. Jason Ring met with a woman who said she and a 23-year-old man engaged in an argument about sex. The 21-year-old woman said her friend was trying to leave, but she refused to move out of the doorway, so he pushed her, causing her to fall to the floor. The man went outside to his car, but she interfered again, so the man went back into the house and locked the door. She went in through the back door and he ordered her to leave again, saying he would beat her if she did not leave.

The deputy located the man, who said they argued because the woman wanted to have another child. Neither had any marks on them and the woman decided to go stay with her parents.

HARASSMENT: On July 14, Sgt. Josh Smith met with a man who said his ex-wife keeps calling and won’t stop. In a few minutes, she called 10 times. The man wanted a report filed on her behavior.

WOMAN ASSAULTED: On July 14, Deputy Chris Haston met with a woman who said that she and her boyfriend were riding to his mother’s home when they got into an argument because she would not pay his ex-girlfriend some money that he had borrowed from her. She said they stopped on Wildcat Bridge Road where he began hitting her. A man in the area reported seeing the assault and he called 911 when the victim ran toward his home. The suspect also ran into the man’s yard, but when ordered to leave, the suspect fled into the woods. A warrant will be taken for the 49-year-old man.

MAN ARRESTED: On July 14, Sgt. Jason Luke and Cpl. Hanley were dispatched to a dirt road off Georgia Highway 172 near the Elbert County line, where a vehicle reported stolen out of Elbert County was located. They found the Jeep Wrangler parked in a yard off Davids Home Church Road. They located a man who lives on the property, who said he found the Jeep abandoned on an embankment across the road. To keep someone from stealing it, the man explained, he pulled the Jeep into the road with a tractor, then drove it to his yard because the keys were still in the ignition. The man said he learned later in the afternoon that the Jeep was possibly stolen. The man said he didn’t know why he didn’t alert authorities upon being told the Jeep might be stolen. “I just didn’t. That’s my fault,” he said.